On Tuesday, Sept. 2, President Donald Trump held his first press conference in almost a week. This followed a full three-day weekend of no public appearances, which sparked further speculation and rumors regarding his health.
Initially scheduled for 2 p.m., the press conference was delayed by about 45 minutes. Once it started, Trump announced that the headquarters for the U.S. Space Command would be moving from Colorado to Alabama, and that the U.S. military had completed a lethal strike on a “drug-carrying boat” near Venezuela. Following this, reporters asked Trump questions about his recent use of the National Guard and his reactions to the weekend’s online speculations.
Trump later took to Truth Social, posting further details about the strike on the Venezuelan vessel. His post also included a video of an open vessel and a moment of impact. In the video, several people are shown to be aboard the vessel, which is then set aflame following the impact. The White House’s official social media pages later posted a meme with a screencap of the video edited with the text ‘ADIÓS’ underneath it.
Moving Space Command Headquarters
The U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) was first formed in 1985, where it was active for a little over 16 years. During the first Trump administration, USSPACECOM was reestablished and has remained active for six years.
USSPACECOM has a close relationship with the United States Space Force, the military service formed at the end of 2019, just a few months after the reestablishment of USSPACECOM.
The announcement regarding the relocation of the headquarters marks the end of a four-year struggle between Colorado and Alabama, both of which have been vying for it. The Trump administration has officially elected to move the headquarters to Huntsville, Alabama. This opposes the previous administration’s decision to keep the headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“This decision will help America defend and dominate the ‘high frontier,’ as they call it,” Trump said. He later referenced his proposed Golden Dome, a conceptual missile defense system, stating that Alabama’s USSPACECOM will play a “key role” in building this system.
During this announcement, Trump noted Alabama’s support for him while criticizing Colorado’s voting practices, namely its allowance of mail-in ballots.
“The problem I have with Colorado, one of the big problems, is that they do mail-in voting. They went to all mail-in voting,” he stated. “So they have automatically crooked elections, and we can’t have that. When a state is for mail-in voting, that means they want dishonest elections, because that’s what that means. So that played a big factor also.”
Trump also stated that Huntsville will now be known as Rocket City, a nickname in current use as an homage to the city’s historic connection to NASA and the Space Race.
Usage of the National Guard
Hours after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that the Trump administration “willfully” broke federal law by sending National Guard troops into Los Angeles, Trump confirmed that he would be sending the National Guard to Chicago and Baltimore.
The White House reportedly plans to appeal the decision, with spokeswoman Anna Kelly stating, “Once again, a rogue judge is trying to usurp the authority of the Commander-in-Chief to protect American cities from violence and destruction.”
Trump, who stated that safety has improved since sending in National Guard troops to cities like Washington, D.C., confirmed that he intends to send National Guard troops to cities like Baltimore and Chicago, which he referred to as a “hell-hole.”
“We’re going in. I didn’t say when we’re going in,” he stated. “Look, I have an obligation. This isn’t a political thing.”
Additionally, Trump was asked if he would consider sending one armed National Guardsman to every school in the nation to curb school shootings.
“I don’t think so,” Trump stated. He did, however, float the idea of allowing teachers with experience in the military or National Guard to carry firearms at school.
Responding to the Online Rumors
When asked about recent online speculations regarding his health and rumors of his death, Trump claimed to have been unaware of the extent of the online chatter.
“No… I didn’t see that,” he stated. “Last week, I did numerous news conferences, all successful. They went very well — like, this is going very well — and then I didn’t do any for two days, and they said there must be something wrong with him. [Joe] Biden wouldn’t do them for months.”
Trump then labeled the rumors as fake news. “That’s why the media has so little credibility,” he added.
Trump is scheduled for more press-related appearances in the coming days, having met with Karol Nawrocki, the recently elected President of the Republic of Poland, on Wednesday, Sept. 3. During this meeting, Trump confirmed that he plans to keep American troops in Poland in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, stating, “We’ll put more there if they want.”
This meeting occurred just after the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released 33,295 pages of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. At the same time as Trump’s meeting with Nawrocki, select House members met with survivors and the group, Stand with Survivors, outside of the U.S. Capitol.
There, they held a press conference and voiced support for the call for a House vote requiring the Justice Department to release its records in full with redactions to protect information about victims and ongoing investigations. The efforts for this vote are being led by Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. and Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Green, Lauren Boebert, and Nancy Mace have signed the petition calling for this vote. If every House Democrat joins in, only two more Republican signatures would be required to force a vote.
Trump is scheduled to continue meetings regarding Ukraine, with expectations to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders on Thursday, Sept. 4.
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